I am often one to criticise the media for generating unwarranted fears. I see the swine flu “epidemic” as one clear example of media hype being larger than the real problem. South Africa is perceived to be one of the most violent countries in the world with the crime and violence widely reported in the […]
2009
Posted inMedia
Jissie Joost, how could you?
Jissie Joost, couldn’t you have shocked us all a bit sooner? Like, when I was still completing the sex chapter in my new collection of insults (out soon in a bookshop near you and perfect Christmas gifts for people you don’t really like and can’t think of anything to get them, hint hint). That’s the […]
Posted inLifestyle
Sex 101: Lather, rinse, repeat
By Michael Baillie Dolly was her name. Smallish frame, petite bust, and tiny blue eyes that really lit up if you did it just right. She usually did it on the floor, man-on-top, and, like I said, shed really light up if you just stuck by the book: keep you arms straight, 12 deep pushes […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Time to join the 21st century, Juliarse
I’m sorry, but has everyone gone mad? Wherever I turn, it’s Joost. Joost and his wife (not to mention her equine flatulence), Joost and his apology, Joost and his book. Really? A book? Have we not all suffered enough? I tell you, I have had it up to here with Joost. And considering that Andre […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Numsa call to nationalise Sexwale and Motsepe’s wealth is obscene
“The National Union of Metalworkers on Monday called for the nationalisation of the wealth of South Africa’s richest man, Patrice Motsepe, and ANC struggle hero Tokyo Sexwale. This comes after South Africa’s ‘Rich List’ was published by the Sunday Times on Sunday. The list, compiled by Who Owns Whom, showed that Motsepe was the richest […]
Posted inLifestyle
Last impressions of Cambodia…
Yesterday morning we left Cambodia, after a month trying to unravel the perplexing knot of emotions we felt about the country. We found the natural beauty we’d been searching for, down south. Gorgeous, untouched beaches and islands near Sihanoukville (not in Sihanoukville, which was like a scene from a Spring Break movie, with cheap bars […]
Posted inGeneral
Kangaroo courts part 1: The Polanski case
Every so often we are faced with a news story that divides opinion and causes heavy debate. In these cases, emotion often rules supreme and otherwise pleasant people become laptop dictators demanding justice and punishment. They seldom know more than the basic public stance, cry righteous indignation without a semblance of objectivity, and the baying […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Finally impressed…
So it is a pleasure to say that I feel like our president is doing some really good work (or is at least saying he is going to). With the address to the National Council of Provinces on October 29 he has finally ended a nearly decade-long state denial of the HIV and Aids problem, […]
Posted inGeneral
Ich bin kein Berliner
Ich bin ein Berliner. — John F Kennedy, 1963 Zwei Berliner, bitte. — Tertius Kapp, 2009 21/10/09, 15:34 JFK famously called himself a doughnut (a specific German variety known as a “Berliner”) during a 1963 speech underlining the USA’s support for West Germany. Recently, party poopers have been pointing out that he was technically correct […]
Posted inGeneral
Love and finitude
But what if all that stuff about “kissing the joy as it flies”, which I wrote about some time ago here (see “The pragmatics of love”), just does not seem to work, or work out, and despite all one’s attempts to do justice to one’s beloved — albeit within the inescapable limits of one’s humanity […]
Posted inMedia
Malema’s media scapegoat
By Janice Winter Last week saw one of Britain’s biggest media controversies with BNP leader Nick Griffin’s appearance on the BBC’s Question Time. Public debate pivoted on the media’s role in guarding democratic space, with interpretations of this responsibility in contradistinction: on the one hand, the view that by inviting the BNP onto Question Time, […]
Posted inLifestyle
Speaking of names…
Sarah Britten’s post about Afrikaans names reminded me of another bunch of people who are apt to give their offspring some pretty amusing, if not unfortunate names. Black people. I’m sure this has happened to you before: you walk into the Steers, place your order, wait for 5 minutes and then accept your greasy burger […]